Dybala aims to be “first among humans” after Ronaldo and Messi

Paulo Dybala insists there was “no team stronger” than Juventus last season, while he aims to be “first among humans” after Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi.

The Argentina international sat down for a lengthy interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport and did not hold back on his real ambitions. “I would gladly sacrifice the Scudetto for the Champions League. In fact, that was my position last season too,” confessed La Joya. “Now the expectations have really grown, but the mentality remains the same: win everything.” The Bianconeri went out last term in a controversial clash with Real Madrid. “I don’t think there was a stronger squad than Juve last season. It’s true Real Madrid won, but they did not prove themselves to be stronger than us. “If we had got through that round, everything would’ve changed. In my view, we would’ve won the Champions League and everyone would’ve said we were the best. There was no team stronger than ours.”

Dybala was sent off in the first leg in Turin and therefore suspended for the 3-1 result in Spain. “The victory at the Bernabeu gave us more strength and belief. The team went to win in Madrid with incredible determination and grit. My teammates told me that the Real players were really struggling, they would look at each other with confusion because they’d rarely conceded three goals like that. “I think it was that game that pushed Ronaldo towards Juventus. That’s when he realised our strength and made his choice. He is very intelligent and sees things before others. “The thing that amazed us about Ronaldo is how normal he is. If you see him on social media and TV, you get a different idea of what he’s like, but really he’s the same as all of us. “He trains well, is 100 per cent concentrated in every training session, but jokes around like everyone else. He makes fun of Joao Cancelo and says his Italian is already better, while he has started drinking mate like us South Americans.” Alessandro Del Piero said Dybala and Kylian Mbappé are the heirs to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. “For that to be the case, Messi and Ronaldo would need to be at the twilight of their careers, but they are still doing extraordinary things,” noted Dybala. “Messi and Cristiano are beyond the norm. My objective is to be first among the humans. Of the other humans, I like Isco, because he never loses the ball, but Neymar and Mbappé are also excellent players. “When I was a child, sitting in front of the campfire, I wished that I could win the Ballon d’Or. If you want to improve, you have to set high targets…”